Issues of Post-Game Crossovers: Tales of the Abyss Familiar of Zero
by noctisxsol
Summary: Two souls in one body put into the service of a girl who doesn't truly know who she is or what she wants. Both will need to forge their identities in the path of their own destiny. Spoilers for Tales of the Abyss.
1. Binding

**Issues of Post-Game Crossovers: Tales of the Abyss and Familiar of Zero**

Chapter 1: Identity

 **Spoilers for all of Tales of the Abyss. Play the game, It's one of the greatest of all time. Available for 3DS, or PS2 if you can find it. Some head-cannon, but that's inevitable for some of this stuff.**

 **This is planned to be a fairly short series since there is only one real season of Familiar of Zero (FoZ). The tone will be a little more serious and soul searching, but the comic relief will still be there. This will not be a story of a forming romance, but rather of forging/ deciding your identity. Luke/Asch will be summoned at the point just after he freed Loreli, but the memories from both will exist in the new person. The summoner must decide her own fate, and the summoned his own identity.**

 **I have no rights to either Familiar of Zero nor to Tales of the Abyss, and I make no money off of this work. If you aren't satisfied, contact me, and I'll give you everything I earned from this. If you find it really bad, then I'll send double.**

 **Text key**

"Speech" _"Thought"_ "SHOUTING" 'Non-bodied Beings' **"Spells/Artes"**

 **This story assumes familiarity with Tales of the Abyss, but can be read without. If you don't understand a term; you're already on the internet, look it up.**

And with that, we begin

'So, the world did not vanish.'

"My servant that existed somewhere in this vast universe."

'To think that the future I saw would be rewritten.'

"My divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant, heed my call!"

'You have done admirably."

"I wish from the very bottom of my heart and add to my guidance and appear!"

'Go with my blessing and gift."

-Tristain Academy Courtyard—

A pink haired young woman stood in front of a crowd of her peers, pouring out her soul in her final chance to prove herself. Giving her wand a final dramatic wave she pushed all of her power out and hoped. An explosion covered the area. As the dust settled, all of the students stared in awe at the sight before them. What they saw was not an animal, but instead a pair of men in a protective sphere. The visibility was low, but they would see that both were adorned with red hair, and that one of said men was laying pale and bloodstained in the other's arms. The second fact was what caught people's attention.

"Brimir!" … "Louise killed someone!" … "Get a water mage!" … "Is that her familiar?" … "Germanian?"… "Twins?" … "A human familiar?" … "Why is he glowing?"

The crowd of students surged in opposite directions. Some wanted to get closer and see just what the Zero had managed to summon. Others remembered her penchant for explosions and wanted to be as far away as possible.

The latter group had the better idea.

A glow began to emanate from inside the sphere and increased until it hid everything from the spectators' view. Lances of light pierced the bubble and light flooded the courtyard. When everyone could finally see, they were greeted by a crater containing a single red haired young man, a bag of holding, and two piles of clothes.

Most of the ladies blushed and averted their eyes at the sight of the young man in the buff, but a certain red haired young lady couldn't resist but find comedy in the situation. "How perfect! Louise the Zero's familiar makes explosions just like her!"

As the crowd erupted in laughter said pink-haired girl merely stewed in her anger. _"That's not fair. His explosion was better than mine."_

-Infirmary, Later—

"But he's a human! And we don't even know if he's the one I summoned or if he was merely dragged into the spell with his brother or-"

"Miss Valliere, the rules are very clear. Despite the unusual circumstances of his summoning, we cannot allow you to so casually undermine the sacred ritual. He will be your familiar. Complete the ritual."

"But Professor Colbert, he's obviously a noble! His current lack of dress aside, that second explosion was not caused by my magic and he still seems to glow."

"Yes, well" The professor coughed and stumbled over his words before coming to a decision. "I'm certain that his family will understand the necessity of the sacred ritual. Though, perhaps it would be wise to learn more about your familiar and the consequences of binding him before the contract is sealed. I'm certain that the element of time can be flexed in this unprecedented circumstance."

"Am I then to be the only second year without a familiar until that is concluded?"

"Well-" The argument between teacher and student was interrupted by a loud groan from the bed where they placed the crimson haired summon.

"(Damn it. I thought the afterlife was supposed to be peaceful. Should have known the Order was lying about that too.)"

The nobles winced at the harsh tone even if they couldn't understand the words. They pushed forward into the room where Colbert took the lead and extended his hand in greeting. "It is nice to meet you sir. You are at the Tristain Magic Academy. Louise here must have brought you here as part of her summoning spell. From where do you hail?"

The man stared at the hand in what seemed to be annoyance before standing up from the bed to shake it. However, that removed the sheets covering his nakedness, and it was done in the presence of a very hot-blooded young lady. Said young lady reacted before thinking and set a kick to the presumed pervert's privates.

Acting on instinct, his hand went to grab a sword. While there should have been nothing, his hand caught the handle of a familiar blade and within an instant it struck the young noblewoman across the cheek with the flat.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she forced them back and tried to assure herself. _"I am a Valliere, I am a noble, I won't be made a fool of by this uncouth Germanian barbarian!"_

The man that struck her was focused on the blade in his hand. The blade was long and had a hexagontal dip on both sides in the middle of the blade, and was attached to a handle in the shape of a tuning fork. _"This is… The Key of Lorelei. But why do I have it? Didn't it dissolve when I freed Lorelei? What happened?"_

The man traced his memory back, he remembered fulfilling his mission, but before that feeling the death of his other half and at the same time dying himself. His memories pushed back into his head in matching pairs; falling down into a trap hole to find his original, and also witnessing the replica fall down the trap as the original. He could remember both sides of the duel as original and clone fought for the right to destroy their destiny. He remembered both giving and receiving the back-handed acknowledgement of surpassing his status as replica.

Two voices warred in his head. He stumbled and started to glow. His hands went to his head and clutched his hair. Long. _Asch_. The sword in his hand was given to the replica. _Luke._

His breathing increased. Both sides of him knew what was happening, but couldn't command the body to stop the destruction that was about to unfold. _Full power hyper-resonance. Not even dust would remain._

 _Swords piercing his back, his stomach, three of them. Dead. Holding the cooling body of his original as his own body dissolved. Dead. Dead. Dead._

The power pulled his arms in front of him. A vibrating sphere of destruction formed in front of him as reality was flooded with more power than it was made to hold.

A hand caught his attention _. Memories of a ship. Vandestelca? No, the traitor was dead and Lorelei was free. Who-_

Lips _. Too small, too short. Not Natalia. Nor Tear. Anise? Pink hair._ Kiss.

Pain _. Burning on his hand. Fonic Glyphs? Ancient Ispanian?_ Hyper-resonance shorted out. Explosion. _Partial power. Pain. Darkness._

Colbert cleared the air of smoke with a quick wind spell and took stock of the situation. Louise was on the floor, pinned by her newly bound familiar and lit with sunlight from a newly created hole in the wall. He came to the silent decision that the two were perfect for each other.

"Congratulations, Miss Valiere, you have successfully bound your summon, may have created an international incident, and have managed to indirectly destroy the medical wing. You have defied all expectations once again."

Louise wasn't certain how whether to take that statement as honest compliment, or backhanded insult.

-Evening, Valliere chambers—

The crimson haired familiar sat up in an unfamiliar bed surrounded by stone walls. Ever since he left the manor and traveled over the whole world, this had become a more common thing. It wasn't a matter of concern.

He was also naked. Not even any bandages. That was not common, and was an inordinately bad sign. Either he had gotten drunk, or someone had kidnapped him again. He sincerely hoped it was the later.

The silhouette of a small young woman fell across a thin privacy screen. " _Fon Master guardian_. Anise? Arietta? _Damnit, what did I do? Or… Lorelei help me…"_

Deciding it would be better to face the humiliation and possible castration right away, he sat up and called out, "Did I do anything… stupid, last night?"

The silhouette froze before rushing to finish changing and threw a set of clothes at him over the screen.

"Anise, is that you? What's going on? Where's Guy? Where's Tear? Did something happen?"

A pink head poked out from behind the screen before retreating back blushing.

" _So it was kidnapping. That's a relief. I was worried I did something that I couldn't live down. I would have to destroy Dist's revenge journal again. Or worse, introduce her to Mother…"_

His mysterious captor finally came out from behind her screen once he was finally dressed in the shirt and cape thrown at him. She looked him up and down before nodding to herself in satisfaction. She waved him over to a small desk and pulled out a chair for him to sit.

They were eye to eye like that.

" _Alright Louise, don't panic or do anything stupid. I summoned a noble, his lack of manners aside. I don't know what rank he holds, if he had or even can have a familiar of his own, or even how well he can control his magic. He may very well be like me and… No. I have to treat him with respect as a noble deserves, even if he is a boorish Germanian. Remember the lessons that-_

"Are you feeling alright? You've been staring at me with a really intense look on your face."

Louise blushed and turned her head to the side, only barely holding herself back from a huff and calling him an idiot. However, she wasn't able to hide the bruise that had formed from his earlier strike. The discoloration jogged the man's memories and his eyes widened.

He leapt from his seat and rushed over to his item bag and pulled out a strange dome shaped red gelatin. He rushed back over and gently tilted her face to show the bruise before rubbing the gel over the wound. "I'm sorry. I acted without thinking; I could have easily stopped you without having to hurt you. The apple gel should heal you right up."

Louise fought back her blush and the accompanying anger. She couldn't bring herself to go to a water mage for healing, in case word got out that she couldn't control her familiar. Who was still acting out against her command to sit and talk. And he was treating her like a child, which was even worse!

She squirmed and used both her arms to push away the hand that was treating her cheek. He laughed and let himself be pushed away, taking far too much delight in her petulant pout. "I'm sorry, you just remind me of one of my friends. Anise is only thirteen, but she likes to think she's twenty. 'I'm not a kid!' and the whole time she looks like someone's lost child."

"How… nice." Her smile was suddenly very forced and her hand was reaching for her riding crop. Only the constant mental reminder that this was another noble held her hand. "So… I remind you of a little girl… When I'm sixteen…"

The look of barely contained anger on her face brought up a memory of a different little girl and his mood darkened. He stared at her reflection in the window and saw the spirit of a different short pink haired girl, dying in a forest over the destroyed nest of the monsters that raised her. "Damnit… Arietta, why couldn't you let it go?"

Frightened by his sudden shift to a darker mood, Louise sought to gain control of the conversation. "Tell me who you are and where you came from." She almost winced at the commanding tone. A noble could easily take such an attitude as an insult.

The summon meanwhile was uncertain on how to answer. Two sets of memories and two voices gave conflicting answers. Replica or Original? Luke or Asch? When he finally spoke, the words came out slowly, like he was announcing an ongoing compromise. "I'm… the son of Duke Fabre, the nephew of King Ingobert VI. I'm engaged to Princess Natalia. I am the scion of Lorelei's power. My name is…" he paused, his mouth moving between two different names before he settled on one with a smile "Light of the Sacred Flame, Luke fon Fabre."

Louise stared in awe at the young man in front of her. " _Engaged to a Princess, nephew to a king, he's practically higher rank than I am! And I summoned him! Surely that counts for something! I can't be completely talentless if I managed to summon someone like him! So what if he had the manners of a Germanian, he's all but a prince where he came from! Now if I can just find out where that is… and find out what this means for my element… and-"_

"And who are you?"

Louise froze in the middle of her train of thought. "I-I am Louise François Le Blanc De La Valliere, the youngest child of the Valliere family. My father is the Duke of Valliere, and my mother is famed as Karin of the Heavy Wind. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sir Luke. Am I right to guess that your element is fire?"

Luke tilted his head in confusion, one of the voices inside him whispering that something was wrong. "Well, I can utilize all seven fonon types. The sacred flame is a reference to Lorelei, the seventh fonon."

Louise stared at him blankly. "Seven… fonons? What kind of wild magic exists in your kingdom!? Everyone knows that there are only elements of magic! And What in Brimir's name is a fonon? Where is your kingdom, anyway? Beyond the elf lands?"

Luke looked out the window and the voice grew stronger. Something was missing from the sky. He turned to Louise and stared straight into her eyes. "Take me outside, there's something I need to check."

Louise dazedly took him by the hand and led him to the courtyard where he had been summoned. He looked up at the twin moons and sighed. "It's not there. I really have been drawn to a different world."

The girl sputtered at the nonsense. "Another world, Impossible! The summoning can only bring creatures of this world! You just don't know what you're talking abou-"

" **Devil's inferno!** "

A wave of heat enveloped her face, flames stopping just short of her nose. Luke stared at her defiantly, his sword wand not moved from his attack.

"I carry the memories of two lives spent saving our world from a destiny of destruction. I traveled east until it became west. I have seen the end of north and south. I know my world, and this is not it. Now, you can continue to question my knowledge, or you can learn how I earned the name ASCH THE BLOODY!" Louise quaked in terror. Her only salvation was the far-away look in her familiar's eyes.

Asch, meanwhile was struggling with his now opposing inner voice. ' _You didn't have to threaten her. She's obviously never experienced anything like us before, she's just trying to work with what she knew. You don't have to punish her for that!'_

" _She wouldn't listen to reason if there wasn't force behind it. She's even worse of a spoiled brat than you were, replica."_

' _And I'm proof that people like that can change! Give her a chance! Teach her! We were sent here for a reason. Maybe it's to help her.'_

" _We don't have time to play. We need to get back to Natalia, she doesn't know we're alive."_

' _That's another thing, HOW are we alive. You died! My fonons all separated!'_

" _The contamination effect? Or perhaps it was Lorelei who intervened. Who can be certain?"_

'… _Things are different now.'_

" _Replica…"_

' _I've grown since Yulia City. We're equals now. I won't stand by and let you lash out without reason.'_

"… _Then prove it. Apologize to the brat and see if she really can change with your soft gloves."_

"Umm, Lord Fabre? I-I apologize for my insolence! Please forgive me!"

Luke looked down at the girl and saw potential. Potential for change. She knew something was wrong, but she just didn't know how to change it yet. "You can change. So long as you realize there is a problem and work to correct it, you will be on the path to change. And for my part, for scaring you, I'm" His mouth suddenly shut with a clack. The muscles strained against each other, like his body was fighting to keep in the words the mind wanted to say. "sorry."

He looked inordinately pleased with himself for what seemed to be a simple apology, but she brushed it off. "Well then… could you tell me about your brother? What happened to him?"

Luke's face changed in an instant. His eyes narrowed into slits and his face set into a grimace. It was like an entirely different person was wearing the face. "Replica. He was my replica, a copy that stole my life and almost ruined everything. Then he grew up. He surpassed me. I died, and he finished the job…"

"You died! How is that possible?! How can you be here?! What happened to the Replica?!"

His face softened again, and he put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm here. I just have Asch's memories too. It just gets confusing."

Louise spent a minute trying to figure out what was going on before surrendering. "I accept you as you are, Luke. I will assist you in any way I can, as a fellow noble."

He looked at her with a strange look on his face before sighing. "It's not about being a noble or anything like that. I'll accept your help from one person to another. However, it will have to be later. I have to return to my friends and let them know I'm alive, whoever I am now."

A cold feeling settled in the pit of the girl's stomach. "A-and how do you propose that you return? By your own admission you came from another world. I cannot return you, the summoning spell does not allow for the return of the familiar."

Luke placed his hands out in front of his chest. "When my journey started, a hyper-resonance blew me halfway across the world. With Asch and I working together to open the portal that brought us here, it should be an easy task to use another hyper-resonance to return to my world."

Her breathing rose and panic set in. _"He's the first clue I have that I'm not a worthless mage, I can't let him go! He's going to teach me my element and I'll be a proper noble and not a disappointing zero and I'll grow up and pay Henrietta back for her friendship and become famous and get happily married and have kids and-_ " "NO!"

The forming hyper-resonance once again shorted out over the familiar runes and exploded. Luke was thrown off his feet by the force, but Louise managed to stay standing. She limped over to her prone familiar and grabbed his branded hand. "We are bound, you and I. We are mage and familiar. The bond is sacred, the founder's magic does not allow it to be severed lightly." She was perhaps pushing the truth a bit. The bond was nigh unbreakable as far as she knew, but he was hardly the same as a mole or a salamander. The fact stood that he could not be allowed to leave her like this. "Come, let's set this aside for tonight and rest. Perhaps you will feel better tomorrow?"

Luke looked up at her before he shifted to what she dubbed as the Asch Face. "Don't think that you're hiding anything, Brat. If I need to tear off this manacle to return I will."

Louise turned with an unrestrained huff and marched back to her chambers. _"He'll come around after a night on the cold ground. No noble could possibly lower himself to two nights of sleeping outdoors."_

The crimson haired man lay on his back and examined the runes on the back of his hand in the light of the two moons. Not discovering what he was looking for, he gave a quiet curse, before reaching going to the edge of the forest to gather firewood. _"Tear, Natalia, Guy, Anise, Jade, Father, Mother Uncle, even Emperor Peony. Everyone. I will return."_ His body lit up with the light of Lorelei and his hands captured his head as Luke and Asch tore into each other with their blades. _"But who will I be when I do?"_

 **Chapter 1 Done**

I have no illusions that this is only going to appeal to a few people. The Tales series isn't as popular as it deserves to be, and this demands full knowledge of that game to understand, much less care. I just wrote this to get a plot bunny out, and likely won't continue it for a while. I just wanted something slower. If I update one of my stories next will be Link's adventures in Matchmaking where he tries to convince Kakashi to hook up with the woman from the Wave Arc. And Haku is gender confusing. Either that or Tales of Symphonia IPGC with RWBY. Because what other game do you acrobatically fight monsters and racism in real time with a four person party while darkness and conspiracies hide just beneath the surface? Besides other Tales games.


	2. Nobility

**Issues of Post-Game Crossovers: Tales of the Abyss and Familiar of Zero**

Chapter 2: Nobility

 **Spoilers for all of Tales of the Abyss. Play the game, It's one of the greatest of all time. Available for 3DS, or PS2 if you can find it. Some head-cannon, but that's inevitable for some of this stuff.**

 **This is planned to be a fairly short series since there is only one real season of Familiar of Zero (FoZ). The tone will be a little more serious and soul searching, but the comic relief will still be there.**

 **I have no rights to either Familiar of Zero nor to Tales of the Abyss, and I make no money off of this work.**

 **Text key**

"Speech" _"Thought"_ "SHOUTING" 'Non-bodied Beings' **"Spells/Artes"**

 **This story assumes familiarity with Tales of the Abyss, but can be read without. If you don't understand a term; you're already on the internet, look it up.**

And with that, we begin

Two red haired figures glared at each other across a white room, blood dripping from both of them. They raised their blades, and staggered toward each other, flailing with all the strength left in their bodies. Eventually them stumbled together. Both were run through. One fell forward, the other fell backward. A curtain of long crimson hair covered the two from above.

Green eyes opened in shock. He grasped the hilt of his sword and surveyed the room for threats. The room was unfamiliar, but the pink hair poking out from the bed next to his could only belong to one person. _"Damnit Largo, you're supposed to be the one to take care of the kid. Now I'm going to be stuck listening to Arietta ramble on about Ion."_ "Get up Brat. The sun's rising; it's time for morning training."

Pink eyes opened slowly. There was a voice in her room. _"Likely a new maid that hasn't learned her place yet. She had better receive a firm thrashing for her impudence."_ As her eyes began to take in the sight in front of her and she remembered the previous day, her judgement quickly changed. She retreated under the covers with a squeak. _"I have a man in my room and I'm only in my nightgown! Another noble! The scandal this could cause! Familiar or not, he can't see me like this!"_

Asch growled. "What, did you lose your doll? Get up! If your late for training again, Va-a…" His head fell into his hands as memories rushed through him. "…Damn it. I'm sorry. I was lost in memories. I'll be outside training when you're ready."

Louise waited for the door to close before bursting out from her covers. It was way too hot under there, but decency trumped comfort. _"After all, what if a servant came in, or Zerbst decided she wanted something? Word could get back to Mom, she'd have to defend my honor, and I'd lose the only thing that proves I'm a real noble. And I can't fully trust him either. After all, it's not like I summoned an animal or a commoner that I should be able to easily control. Who knows what he could do if he were in the mood, and I wouldn't be able to stop him."_

Pushing down the blush, she quickly dressed and headed for the courtyard to see what her familiar could do. He was already surrounded in his glow, with his hands held in front of him. _"He's doing… whatever that is. It's going to explode on him, just like all of my spells."_ The runes on his hand glowed, and he adjusted the position of his hands with a grimace. _"But he acts like he knows he can. And if he can overturn his fate then so can I! I can be more than a zero, starting today!"_

The glowing remained and stabilized. A victorious grin split his face, before he unleashed the force and vaporized a section of the wall.

Her shocked squeak gave away her position and the familiar turned to her with a friendly smile. "Good morning, Louise. I was just about to start exercising. You want in?"

The girl blanched at the thought of unnecessary physical activity. _"Isn't magic supposed to make it so we don't have to use our muscles like the peasants?"_ "Ummm, it's going to be time for breakfast soon and I haven't shown you anything of the academy yet! I'm afraid exercise is going to have to wait." The look on her familiar's face made her feel like she had kicked a puppy.

-ToA/FoZ-

The pair strolled into the dining hall, attracting the eyes of the assembled students. The most attention seemed to be focused on the familiar, dressed in a black and red tabard placed over the regular student pants and shirt.

Whispers were being passed, theories were made, and many people urged their neighbors to demand an answer. No one dared to walk up the pair though, intimidated by the familiar's sword. All of them knew of the famous wand-sword used by Karin of the Heavy Wind, and thought better of crossing someone of even a fraction of her skill.

The duo took seats at the table, and the whispers exploded while a few coins passed hands. Luke looked at the pink haired maid in confusion, and quickly noted that she was almost beaming in pride at the attention. After a quick prayer to someone called Brimir, she explained. "Only nobles are allowed to eat at the table. By sitting on that chair as my familiar, you have declared that I summoned a noble. Some people are understandably skeptical."

"So everyone here is some level of noble? Huh, it sounds kind of unsafe to have this many nobles together in one place. What if someone attacks?"

The lady's blood ran cold at the thought. Certainly, no civilized country would attack, but what if those anarchist rebels attacked or a group of elves infiltrated? This academy would be a prime target! She quickly shook her head to dismiss the idea. "This is a school for magic, and the teachers are the finest in their fields. They would be able to take care of any malcontents that arise. Plus, we have the support of the Pope and Brimir and alliances with all of the nations around us. There's no way that anyone would attack."

The familiar stared down at his plate of food lost in memories. "Treaties are only as good as the people who are supposed to keep them. Not even alliances of marriage can keep peace when someone wants war."

Louise wanted to start an argument and defend her country's method, but couldn't find it in herself to be very forceful to another noble. Instead she gave a light huff and explained the simple truths of the matter. "It won't happen. Everyone benefits from this school for nobles. Magic is essential for keeping the peasants in line and Tristain academy is the best around."

Pieces slowly began to fall into place in his head and he gave a gasp when he grasped the situation. "Before… you said it was a school for magic that keeps the common people in line… And with the prayer to Brimir… This is a cult, isn't it?"

Louise spit out her drink in a very un-noble fashion. "This is most certainly not a cult! The church of Founder Brimir is very ancient and noble and righteous!"

"And I'm certain they would never use religious power to force a political agenda. After all, that manipulation is the sort of things that cults do."

"It's not like that!" her outburst echoed throughout the hall. As the reverberations died out, she continued in a blushing whisper. "they merely ensure that what is best is done. We would be lost without our founder Brimir's guidance."

"That really does not help your cult argument. Seriously, you sound like you're only a step away from the Score, and only because your cult leader doesn't have any real power."

The nearby students had scooted away from the arguing duo, with not a few having fled the dining hall entirely. "Brimir gave us magic! He made us noble! He's the only reason humanity hasn't been completely destroyed! If he hadn't been killed by a traitorous elf, humanity would be flourishing in the Holy Land!"

"Is that what you know, or what you've been told? You have to walk your own path. You will always be a child if you never take control of your own destiny."

A near silent growl escaped from her throat, but she said nothing. Disgusted with the conversation, she pushed away her plate and rose from her chair. Three breaths later, she finally spoke. "We're going outside. Second year mages have the day off to become acquainted with their familiars. I will spend it teaching you about Halkeginia and Tristania."

The crimson haired familiar stood, confidant that he had made his point. He had learned his lessons the hard way, hopefully she wouldn't need such drastic measures. " _For her own sake as well."_

-Courtyard-

"When you say that most mages are nobles, is that because of training or because of ability? Could anyone be a mage, but only nobles are trained? Or is it that the only people capable of ever casting spells are of noble blood?"

Yet another question challenging her view of the world. Her familiar was being quite the gadfly. _"I almost wish that I had summoned a commoner, just so that I could freely punish him for his insolence._ " "Nobles become noble through the use of magic." Her patient explanation belied her inner irritation.

"You didn't answer my question!" Was that a trace of whining she heard in his voice? Even if it was imagined, it made her feel better about her own outbursts. "Where I come from, almost everyone can do magic, even if not for battle. If that's true here…"

That strike to her weak point broke her composure. "It's impossible, it has to be! If anyone can learn magic, then nobility means nothing! It's heresy! The world would break down! Such a world can't exist! Can't be allowed to exist!"

"Can it not? After all, I came from such a world and the nobility is strong despite lacking the exclusive claim to supernatural abilities. In fact, the nobility and nation as a whole is stronger and better for it."

She was on her feet. _"When did that happen?"_ "It's impossible! There's no way some commoner could learn to do magic, otherwise it would have happened before."

"It has. That's exactly what your ancestors did to become noble, was it not? How about an experiment?" The familiar stood and motioned to one of the maids. As the peasant was approaching, the Valliere realized what was about to happen.

" _Experiment that requires a peasant? Obviously he's going to try to teach her magic. It's going to fail, there's nothing to worry about, there's no way a peasant could learn magic when the noble daughter of the great Karin of the Heavy Wind can only make explosions!"_ Her thoughts completely failed to still her hand as it grasped her wand. _"Nothing to worry about at all, he's not going to succeed… But what if he does?"_

Before she even knew what she was doing, she was pushing all of her willpower into a spell. Said spell exploded in her face. The smoke obscured everything and for a single precious second, she thought that she had killed the blasphemous familiar and would be able to summon a more obedient servant. Then a voice broke the pleasant illusion.

"Damn it. I was trying to teach you to think for yourself, you drek! In return you try to kill me. You're going to kill thousands if you can't learn how to not be an idiot." The smoke faded and revealed her familiar, barely the worse for the wear and protecting the maid that he had called over. "And… Wait, did you get hurt by your own explosion? Can you not aim your spells?"

The familiar jibes sounded again. "Only Louise could summon a familiar she couldn't control… I best she just kidnapped someone to play the part… Zerbst probably roped in a cousin to play a prank on the Zero… Don't kill the familiar, Mommy isn't going to give you another if you break the first within a day!"

Tears stung her eyes. This was all _his_ fault. Why wasn't _he_ taking the blame. The frustration only grew as she looked at the sword in his hand and realized that she had no real way to enforce her will on the familiar. He was a noble of higher rank than her, obviously more skilled in magic than her, and he was capable of cutting her to ribbons whenever he felt like it. Honestly, it would have been better if she were _his_ familiar, that way he would feel obligated to care for her. As it was, she likely just angered her superior in every way, familiar or not.

Of course, reason often takes a back seat to emotion. Rather than sacrifice her pride to save her life, she decided to do the opposite. She stood tall- as least as much as her stature allowed- and pointed her wand at him. Any intimidation she may have gathered was lost to the soot that covered her face. "Luke fon Fabre! I, Louise de la Valliere, challenge you to a duel!"

Now the whispers were saying entirely different things. "A duel between master and familiar?... Fabre? I'm checking the records… What is Zero thinking?... Is this even allowed?" The final two were sentiments that she thoroughly echoed in her own mind.

"Very well." She looked at his face and instantly regretted it. He had his Asch-face on and that always meant something bad for her. "I, Viscount Luke fon Fabre and God-General Asch the Bloody, accept your duel. Name your second and spend some time thinking for a change. As for myself, I have accommodation to prepare." The familiar left for the castle, followed by the blushing maid whom he had saved.

Louise, meanwhile, collapsed. _"I just challenged a viscount to a duel when I have no control over my own magic. What have I gotten myself into?"_

Outside of her mind, the jeering conversations continued with one word constantly repeated.

"Zero."

- **Chapter 2 End** -

I was surprised by the amount of people that want to see this keep going. Thanks for the words of encouragement. Leave a review if you like my work and want to see me continue it.

So many stories force in the duel with Guice. Well, I'm going to do things differently. This isn't a romance where the guy has to impress the girl, this is a contemplation of nobility and identity. Much better served to have the two characters fighting be the main characters of their sides. Things will be different. Not only is her familiar stronger than her in so many ways including magic, he is a legitimate noble of higher rank than her own. I'm not just changing the character and having everything remain the same, this is a full overhaul.

Luke and Asch were fused to give a more complete range of possible reactions. Luke by the end tends to only rarely get mad and is far too considerate to challenge Louise and make her grow. Asch is closer, but it would devolve into a shouting match much too quickly. In the middle is the solution.

After publishing an issues for RWBY, I think I'll finally get back to Link's adventures in avoiding harem. Unless something comes up, like an idea for a new story, or a swell of support for continuing an established one, or a squirrel. Dang things do a number on computers.


	3. Duel

**Issues of Post-Game Crossovers: Tales of the Abyss and Familiar of Zero**

Chapter 3: Duel

 **Spoilers for all of Tales of the Abyss. Play the game, It's one of the greatest of all time. Available for 3DS, or PS2 if you can find it. Some head-cannon, but that's inevitable for some of this stuff.**

 **This is planned to be a fairly short series since there is only one real season of Familiar of Zero (FoZ). The tone will be a little more serious and soul searching, but the comic relief will still be there.**

 **I have no rights to either Familiar of Zero nor to Tales of the Abyss, and I make no money off of this work.**

 **Text key**

"Speech" _"Thought"_ "SHOUTING" 'Non-bodied Beings' **"Spells/Artes"**

 **This story assumes familiarity with Tales of the Abyss, but can be read without. If you don't understand a term; you're already on the internet, look it up.**

And with that, we begin

Asch sat across from the headmaster, with Siesta nervously fidgeting off to the side. "I'm going to train the maid. Will she still have a job when I leave, or will I need to support her?"

The wizened headmaster idly puffed at his pipe as he stared out the window. After a long minute he turned to them and jumped in shock. "What are you two doing here! Who let you in? Where is Miss Longville? What's the color of her panties?"

Asch slammed his hand down on the table. "Drop the act geezer! I have a duel with Valliere and I need a second."

Ancient eyes narrowed and the pretense dropped. "So you are as independent as the legends say… I'm afraid I cannot allow it. Duels between nobles are strictly forbidden, and a master fighting her own familiar is inconceivable. I cannot allow you to fight your master. You will simply have to swallow your pride and accept your fate. It's not as though you can return home at the moment."

"It wasn't my pride that was wounded, it was hers."

"Hmm?"

"It was Valliere that issued the challenge. She took offense at my curiosity. There's something that she can't move past unless someone breaks her out of it. I doubt she'll let this go, whether you approve the duel or not."

A lull rose as Osmond puffed his pipe and examined the familiar out of the corner of his eye. Eventually, he removed the pipe and sighed. "…I've forgotten what we were talking about. Refresh my memory; I think it was something to do with buying a maid."

Asch looked like he swallowed a bug, but many would say that was his normal expression. "I don't intend to stay here for long, and I have no desire to attract any sycophants before I leave."

A sad smile adorned the man's face. "I'm afraid those plans won't work, young one. Those runes on your hand mark you as Miss Valliere's familiar. As long as those runes remain, you are required to stay loyal to your mage."

Luke looked down at the runes on his hand and a memory rose to the surface. A tree made of light, the passage ring, obliterating the red circle; A trap on Eldrant, Cancelling the glyph. A light glow began to surround him. "What if I told you that I could destroy these Runes?"

Warring emotions crossed the headmaster's face, each followed swiftly by another. Shock, anger, worry, fear, respect and finally concern. "You were summoned here by Destiny! You can't just reject that!"

The glow intensified. "I reject Destiny with every breath I take. My death was foretold and overturned twice over. Destiny had foretold the death of all Auldrant, and I changed it. I have no respect for any kind of control over the future, and less for those that cling to it. I make my own Destiny."

Admiration settled over the old man. "You were a hero in your own land, weren't you?" He turned away and looked out the window. "Siesta is yours, but I only ask that you help Miss Valliere. Teach her to make her own Destiny."

-Academy Hallway-

"Louise, why did you do that?! You know you have no chance of beating someone who can really do magic!"

"He needs discipline, Zerbst! He was going to desert me." Her stone-faced façade showed barely a crack.

"Well, if he isn't what you want, then I'll take him off your hands." The red-head had no interest in the other girl's social mask.

Rage burned behind her eyes, barely restrained from erupting. "He's mine!"

Kirche merely gave a seductive giggle. "and you've obviously done a very good job of making sure he wants to stay with you. He's a noble, not a commoner. You have to make him want to stay if you want to keep him."

Louise gave a huff and turned away. "What's it to you? Just stay away from my familiar!"

Kirche shook her head and took a step closer to the smaller girl. "I'm a Zerbst and you're a Valliere. I can hardly have my rival floundering around so helplessly, can I?"

Louise clenched her fist with a shaking hand.

Her control slipped.

An open hand flew, powered by explosive anger.

Kirche von Zerbst held a hand to the red spot on her cheek. Louise stared in shock at her own action for half a second, before turning her face back into a mask and striding away.

-Dormitory Wing-

Louise hastily stormed her way back to her room. Kirche trying to fake friendship had her stewing in rage. The only thing barely managing to hold back the explosion was the thought of how childish it would make her seem compared to her opponent.

A voice calling her name made her stop before entering her room. She turned around and saw the maid from the other day dressed in a strange blue military uniform obviously meant for a male. The maid opened her mouth, but Louise cut her off. "What are you wearing?"

The commoner blushed and looked away. "Lord Fabre gave me these clothes. He said that my work clothes wouldn't work so he gave me these. They were worn by his world's greatest mage!"

Louise eyed the buttons strained by the maid's chest with a twitching eye. _"What was he thinking, giving her those clothes?_ "

The maid broke eye contact and gave a nervous bow. "My apologies for my dress, but Lord Fabre has appointed me as his second. He formally accepts your challenge."

Louise pulled herself together and put on her noble face. "We accept. The duel shall take place tomorrow night. Let that dog know that I expect him to be obedient once We have defeated him." She defiantly turned away and closed the door behind her. The moment she was alone, Louise crumpled to the floor. _"What am I thinking? I'm just a failure, I can't fight him!"_

-Luke-

Luke and Asch stared at each other in amazement over their latest compromise. "Did… did you just dress up that maid in one of Jade's outfits?"

"It was your idea, Drek! I certainly wasn't going to let her wear any of Natalia's clothes! No one but her gets to wear them!"

"And I'm keeping Tear's clothes safe!"

"But why did you take her maid outfi… you pervert… We're still engaged to Princess Natalia, and you can't reject that."

"I just thought that since we're here, I thought it would be a nice gift for Tear when I go back."

"Idiot! There isn't just a 'you' anymore! It's us! We need to marry Natalia when we go back and continue the Royal line."

"But Tear…"

Asch stepped forward and placed a hand on his hilt. "Tear is nothing! The last remaining child of a bloodline that the world would be better without! No true nobility! No family! Nothing left to add to the world! Let. Her. Go."

Luke felt his hand tighten around his sword.

He released the blade.

"What is Natalia, then?"

"What did you say Drek?"

"What is Natalia! She is nothing on her own! The child of a God-General, adopted only because of the score! She has no nobility, adds nothing to the royal line, and her father nearly killed us multiple times. Natalia is nothing…"

Asch drew his sword. "Replicaaaaaa!"

Luke dodged to the right and imbedded a knife into Asch's shoulder. "Yet you consider her to be worth more than the whole world, because you love her." He withdrew the knife and Asch slumped in temporary defeat. "And I love Tear!"

"Bastard. This discussion isn't over…"

A knock pulled Luke out of his mental conflict. Siesta nervously stepped into the room and stood at attention. "Lord Fabre, Lady Valliere accepted the duel and set the time to tomorrow night." She closed her mouth and her eyes as tightly as she could manage. She had heard tales of what happened when nobles purchased servants.

"Thank you. Get some sleep. I'll start training you tomorrow evening."

Half relieved, and half frightened; worried and uncertain, she approached the bed.

A hand stopped her. "Don't you have your own bed? I thought that you would get to keep your own quarters."

"I-It's customary for-I thought that- I was told that nobles normally demanded that!"

Luke looked at her in confusion. "Demanded what…?"

Her mumbled response made his face flush.

"Wha- No! I'm taken! I love someone else! I'm engaged even!"

Siesta fled the room in furiously blushing embarrassment.

-Next Day-

Luke sat in the classroom, comparing the teaching to what he had learned through Asch.

" _Transmutation… they're messing with the contamination effect with no more explanation than magic… wait, what is she-"_

A sudden explosion knocked him from his thoughts and onto the ground. The Valliere girl had attempted to shove a mass of seventh fonons into the clay without any thought or direction. It's hardly surprising that they reacted so violently. Did she honestly know nothing of how to use her power?

The other students poked their heads out from the desks that gave them cover, one of them was kind enough to offer a hand to the downed noble. "I pity you, getting stuck with someone like her. She fails every spell she tries. With a fantastic success rate of zero percent, that's Louise the Zero!"

Luke accepted the offered hand out of politeness, and took in the sight of his supposed "master." Despite her genetic nobility, her actions portrayed a vulgar immaturity that was more fitting of the child she looked than the noble young woman she was supposed to be. Natalia was more noble then her by leagues, and the princess didn't have a drop of royal blood. Even comparing the pink haired girl to Anise or Arietta left him disappointed. _"She's stubborn, utterly selfish, and thinks that her position as a noble justified abusing those below her. Add her temper and lack of social graces and she's about as bad as I was before Tear showed up. She doesn't even have the power to back up her anger. It's clear that I'm going to win the duel, but how do I break her out of this mindset?"_

-That Evening, Duel Ground-

"I'll start your training now. Tell me what you already know about magic, Siesta."

The pair were waiting to see if Louise would show for the duel as the sun dipped below the horizon. Siesta fidgeted in her ill-fitting clothes before finally answering. "Only what everyone knows. There are four elements and the nobles wave their wands around to do whatever they want."

Luke swept his eyes across the empty grounds before addressing his student. "Four, huh. I guess our first lesson is fonons, then. Fonons make up everything, and they are the essence of magic. There are seven types; darkness, earth, wind, water, fire, and light are the basic six, with shadow giving power to the second and fourth, and Rem to the third and fifth."

"What about the seventh?" The voice wasn't Siesta's, but Luke continued on nonetheless.

"The seventh fonon is sound. It is rare, but very powerful. But what concern is it to you, mage? Are you spying for your friend?"

Kirche gave a sultry smile and leaned forward to offer an enticing view of her open shift. "Is it so bad to help a friend? Isn't it a second's job to try and resolve tensions? If you'll drop this, I'll help you resolve yours~!"

Siesta turned away from the sight as she tried to get herself back under control. Luke wasn't sure if she was shaking from anger or laughter, but he allowed himself to step back and let Asch take the lead. "What do you want, girl?"

The noble's eye's widened in shock at the cold refusal. In under a second the smile was back, and wider than before at the challenge offered. She placed her hands over her heart, and used her arms to accent her assets. "Louise has been pretty harsh on you. How about you come be My familiar instead; I'll be sure to treat you right~"

Asch grabbed the girl's shoulder to stop her leaning any further in, and moved his face to glare into her soul.

Of course, that isn't what Louise saw. She saw her familiar grab her rival and come in for a kiss.

She didn't even attempt to hold back the explosion.

But in an unprecedented occurrence for her, no explosion came. As she opened her eyes, she saw only her familiar facing her direction with the jeweled hilt of his sword facing her.

"Is this what passes for noble behavior in this world? How is it that the daughter of a nursemaid is the perfect princess while the daughter of a duchess is less mature than a child?" Tears welled up in the girl's eyes as Kirche and Siesta backed away. "That's why you challenged me, isn't it? You're so insecure that you couldn't live with the thought of a mere _commoner_ being more noble than you. You're worse than the drek was, at least he suffered his arrogance and insecurities separately." Loise frantically attempted to cast spell after spell with no visible effect. "You have no control over your powers and no grounding for your claim. The Jewel of Lorelei scatters the fonons you gather before they can explode like you are so hoping they will. You have lost before this fight even began."

"That's enough!" Kirche grabbed Asch's arm and vainly tried to pull him away. "Sure, she can't do anything except cause explosions, but isn't it your job to help her with that? You're her familiar after all!"

Silence fell for half a second as Asch shrugged off the Germanian girl. "The issue is your attitude. The drek destroyed an entire city because of his idiocy, and that's without any training. I won't be a slave to this petulant child!"

A burst of power and light flowed out of his body. The runes lit up, and began to gather the energy.

Then Luke stepped back into the body as well. 'I'm here, Asch! Hyper-resonance!'

Another wave of power surged out and pushed the runes of the familiar off of his hand.

An anguished and enraged cry escaped the defeated Valliere. Louise was in the process of seeing the only thing she had ever accomplished on her own power as a mage being destroyed in front of her eyes.

She had to act. More power than she had ever felt gathered in her wand. Venting all of her fears and rage, she threw it at her fiercely glowing familiar.

What happened next was impossible to decipher. She remembered the peasant girl sprinting toward them as Kirche ran to get a teacher. Then a brilliant flash blinded her, and she blacked out.

-?-

"Louise Valliere, wake up!"

The pink haired girl groaned and rolled over on her bed of soft grass.

"Louise!"

She didn't even respond to the second call before a chunk of ice made itself known on her face. She jerked awake with a shout and quickly took in the sight of her no-longer familiar and his peasant apprentice in peasant clothing.

Then a bundle of clothes bowled her over. "Get changed. Your development begins now."

Louise was about to protest, but something caught her eye. Beyond the cliff on which they stood was nothing. She slowly stepped closer to the edge and peered over. Nothing was below the cliff. They were on Albion. They were blown onto a floating Island that was revolting against their nobles. Asch stood behind her and placed a hand tightly on her shoulder.

"You will either learn by the time you return home, or I will take it into my own hands to prevent you from recreating Akzeriuth."

Louise could say nothing.

 **Chapter 3 end.** The curtain finally closes on the first act. Louise sets out on her own journey of development. I hope to be able to see it through, this is turning out way better and more interesting than I first expected. Thanks to everyone who reads and gives a review. Sorry for slow updates, but hobbies are hobbies. Original, if nothing else.


	4. The Floating Land

**Issues of Post-Game Crossovers: Tales of the Abyss and Familiar of Zero**

Chapter 4: The Floating Land and Omakes begin

 **Spoilers for all of Tales of the Abyss. Play the game, It's one of the greatest of all time. Available for 3DS, or PS2 if you can find it. Some head-cannon, but that's inevitable for some of this stuff.**

 **I have no rights to either Familiar of Zero nor to Tales of the Abyss, and I make no money off of this work.**

 **Text key**

"Speech" _"Thought"_ "SHOUTING" 'Non-bodied Beings' **"Spells/Artes"**

This chapter took so long because I felt that the end of the last chapter was a perfect end to the first arc, and I had other stories that I wanted to write. However, it seems that now is the time to continue this, as my other stories have stalled a bit.

And with that, we begin the Second Act

-Albion-

"Die, Bastard!" Asch ripped his blade through the last remaining soldier and spit on the corpse. He glanced back at his two charges. Siesta was visibly afraid, but still stood her ground and fought the hunting dog that had joined the fray. Louise was behind the maid, cowering and shaking, weapon entirely forgotten. The God-General scowled as he dispatched the beast; Even the maid was better than the so-called noble.

Asch didn't fight as Luke rose to take control again. The original was in no mood to deal with the petulant noble.

"Good job Siesta, I'm proud that you fought to defend Louise. Once we find somewhere safe, I'll start teaching you fonic artes." He turned his head to the noble. "Louise, how much further to the nearest village?"

Irritation temporarily overcame fear. "How should I know? I've never been forced to walk the length of Albion! I barely know where we are now!"

Luke let out a patient sigh. "Fine. We'll keep following the river upstream until we find someone who can give us directions or we need to make camp for the night."

Siesta nodded and Louise huffed. There was obviously still a lot of growth that was needed.

-Evening, Town of Duvernum-

"Thank you for giving us shelter, Father Beckett. We don't know what we would have done I had you turned us away."

The priest laid a bowl of soup before each of them, before sitting down himself. "You are safe here children. No one would dare come against you in this place, not even those Reconquista stalking the land for anyone they can claim. Now tell me, how did you come to my parish? Where do you hail from?"

Luke cut in before Louise had the chance to speak. "Our parents were merchants in Malkuth, but we were attacked. I can only guess that we were thrown here by a teleportation spell. Where are we?"

Beckett gestured towards the stained glass that dominated the walls. "You are in Brimir's Cathedral in Duvernum, on the floating land of Albion. Though, given that I've never heard of Malkuth before, that likely doesn't tell you much."

Luke again spoke for the group. "I'm sorry, but I've never even heard of Brimir before. What does he do?" He ignored Louise's scathing glare. He needed more information that Louise could give, and playing up the outsider angle would be the perfect cover to ask more questions.

The man gained an eager smile. "You don't know about Brimir? Let me teach you then!" The priest bounced over to his bookshelf and grabbed an illuminated copy of the Founder's Scriptures. "Brimir is the guardian of humanity, and the one who gives magic to the nobles, skill to the artisans, cunning to the merchants, and strength to the peasants. He gives protection and power to defeat even elves to those who pray earnestly! His teachings give order to the world and make us strong to one day defeat the elves and return to the Holy Land!"

"Interesting." A short glare from Luke stopped the pink haired noble from saying anything. "And what are the teachings of Brimir?"

The pries eagerly flipped to a different page and pointed to a picture of a man standing above a crowd of dead figures with long ears. "Humanity should be everyone's greatest priority. The elves, and any other races that refuse to bend to humanity's will must be eliminated. Only then will we be able to return to the Blessed land." He flipped to another page, showing mages creating houses and fields with their magic. "To that end, everyone must serve humanity to their own degree. Nobles guide and lead with their magics, but always with the goal of improving life for all humans." His face darkened. "Sadly, many nobles refuse to follow this teaching, and the Reconquista, sinners though they are, have been send as punishment from Brimir. I fear that there will be bloodshed until the nobles recognize their sins and repent…"

The table fell silent, each for their own reasons. Sensing the mood, Father Beckett gave them directions to the spare rooms where they could sleep.

The silence was deafening as each of the three mulled over their thoughts while preparing their mats. Finally, Luke turned to the two girls and spoke. "So, the church is actually supposed to be a social force for good this time, and its effectively powerless? Your god seemingly does nothing for their everyday life, and only does something after thousands of years of the nobles disregarding his teachings? Why would people follow this religion? I'm honestly surprised that the peasants haven't revolted multiple times before now, if this is what's supposed to be helping them. Magic can only do so much when there are far more peasants than there are nobles."

Louise cuddled tighter into her blankets, but couldn't ignore the words.

Siesta was the one who answered. "There have been peasant revolts from time to time, but nothing has been very successful. Assassins have killed a few of the worst ones, but the retribution the rest of the nobles take is horrifying."

Luke scoffed, his voice slipping into Asch's tone. "That's the problem with most nobles. They think that just because they were born a certain way means that it doesn't matter what they do to those under them. They're even worse than the mindless fools who can't decide what to eat without consulting the score."

Both girls wondered about the outburst, but were too afraid to ask. Finally, Siesta spoke up. "M Master Luke… May I begin learning magic?"

Asch gave a grunt in response, before placing one hand on the maid's shoulder to turn her around. He placed both hands on her shoulder blades and the two gained a faint glow. "The first step in learning how to use fonic artes properly is learning how to open your fon slots. I'm channeling a small amount of wind fonons through your body to show you how it should feel. Once I stop, you need to try to recreate that feeling."

Louise did her best to look like she wasn't listening in, but her eavesdropping was still blatantly obvious.

Siesta, meanwhile, was completely lost on how exactly any of it was supposed to work. It almost would have been easier to lift a boulder with her little finger, because at least then she would know where to start more than a vague feeling.

Asch pulled his hands away and watched her unfocused efforts. He glanced over at Louise and saw the noble's air of smug satisfaction at another's struggles. The sight reminded him of the entire reason behind this unplanned trip; the girl needed to learn how the real world worked, and how to use her powers in a manner befitting of a noble.

' _or like any decent human. Being noble doesn't have anything to do with it._ '

Asch made a point of ignoring his other self's voice, and refocused on the maid. "Try holding your breath. The way you breath can drastically change the flow of fonons in your body."

"Perhaps the _commoner_ just isn't capable of understanding how magic works. It's impossible for someone like her to understand faux-nons." The way that the noble said the word showed that she clearly didn't know either.

Asch barely repressed a growl, but continued his explanation. "This area is rick in wind fonons, so it shouldn't be an issue to draw on them, even without the Planet Storm."

"That doesn't explain what a foe-non is!"

"Do you think I was talking to you, Drek?"

"You're a useless, barbaric-"

"You're an annoying, -"

"I've got it!"

Both of the red-heads turned to the maid, who now held a triumphant smile. Asch let a smirk grow as he saw the small noble next to him try to comprehend just how much the world had changed.

There was still hope for her…

 **Chapter 4 end**

 **Making a short chapter to get back into the swing of this story. My original intention was to end it with last chapter and maybe do some short Omakes, but since I'm continuing it, I'll put one here, and do more in the following chapters.**

-What if Miu was Summoned instead?-

"Somewhere in the universe, my beautiful and sacred familiar, Hear my call. I summon you! Come!"

The explosion that followed really should have been expected, and if the previous trends of the petite mage's magical attempts were anything to go by, there would be nothing more. Or maybe she would manage to surprise everyone and summon something completely unheard of, like a human familiar. One could never be certain with Louise the Zero.

And so, with the tiny flicker of hope in everyone's chests, dozens of eyes did their best to pierce the smoke and dust of the explosion. For several seconds, there was nothing. At the five second mark, everyone had put on their masks of mockery to claim that they all knew that Louise would never be able to summon something. At ten seconds, the first person opened her mouth to launch the opening barb.

"What do you know? Louise summoned an explosion for a familiar!"

The pink haired noble took a furious step toward her tormentor, but all thoughts of revenge flew out of her head when she heard that majestic cry.

"Mieuuuuuu…"

Louise lifted her foot, and realized that she had stepped on something. She stared in equal shock and confusion. The… Thing… reminder her of a stuffed rabbit doll from her younger days. Indeed, it had two large fluffy ears that were almost as large as the creature's body itself, a large head adorned with eyes that take up most of its face, and stubby limbs. It even had a ring that it was carrying around like an oversized belt. If there was one word to describe it, it would be adorable.

After multiple seconds of staring, her mind finally registered what she was seeing, and what it meant. She quickly scooped it up and shoved it into Kirche's face. "You were wrong, Zerbst, I did summon a familiar!"

The redhead had to lean back to get a look at the small creature, but eventually her smirk returned. "Well congratulations, Valliere! You've managed to summon something just as small and worthless as you are!"

"Mieuu. That was mean."

Both girls stared in shock at the familiar that had apparently just spoke. Louise checked all around the animal, checking to see if there were any runes on it, even going so far as shaking the poor thing to see if it was real.

"s-s-sto-o-o-op sha-a-aking me-e-e-e!" The poor thing had swirls for eyes by the time Louise actually listened.

"What exactly are you!" The short noble was equal parts excited and scared. Here was an entirely un-heard of animal, and it was going to be her familiar. _"Please be something magical, something that can help me control my magic! Or at least something that's easy to take care of…"_

"I'm a cheagle, they're the sacred beasts of the order of Loreli!"

That was… maybe good? It was at least a respectable animal where it came from. Now she just needed to make sure she bound it… "I summoned you, so now you're going to be my familiar and I'm going to be your master. Paragon of the five elements, hear my cry and make this creature my familiar!" Everything was going well. Too well.

As her face drew close to the cheagle's head, a gout of flame flew from the monster's mouth. Louise drew back with a shout, surrounded by the laughter of her classmates.

Louise never did manage to complete the familiar binding…

-What if Jade was Summoned instead?-

-What if Natalia was Summoned instead?-

-What if Guy were Summoned Instead?-

-What if Van was Summoned Instead?-

-What if Lorelei was Summoned instead?-

-What if Dist was Summoned Instead?-

-What if Kirby were Summoned Instead?-


End file.
